National Basketball Association

Sacramento Kings: Game 48 Preview at Philadelphia 76ers

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:52 p.m. ET

Fansided, Tyler Watts/FanSided via A Royal Pain

Feb 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) drives past Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Sacramento Kings won 114-110. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings travel to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on January 30, 2017. This article provides a preview of that game from a Kings’ perspective.

The Sacramento Kings head to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia tonight to take on the 76ers. This is the second trip to Philadelphia this season because the first meeting was called off minutes before tipoff. On December 26th, the teams did battle with the Kings winning 102-100 in Sacramento. Below is a highlight video from that game to refresh your memory on the happenings.

Without further ado, below is the preview of tonight’s game between the Sacramento Kings and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Dec 26, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi (18) fight for possession of the ball during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries

Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento should be without three players again tonight. Rudy Gay and Omri Casspi are both listed as out for tonight’s game. Omri Casspi should be returning in relatively short order, but no update has been given since January 17th when the Kings announced he would miss one to two weeks.

Georgios Papagiannis is still in the D-League and is expected to be recalled after Monday and Tuesday’s back-to-back set. Since being sent down, Papagiannis has shown out in his three D-League games. He is averaging 16.7 points, 13.0 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game in 35.1 minutes. A great showing for the seven-footer so far and hopefully, it is a sign of good things to come for the Kings.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers have three players listed on their injury report as of this writing. Joel Embiid is listed as questionable with a knee injury and Ersan Ilyasova is listed as probable with a right shoulder contusion. Philly played on Sunday, so their injury report could change rapidly so be warned.

The number one overall draft pick last summer, Ben Simmons, remains out with a foot injury. It was just reported that Simmons remains a “ways away” from playing, so it is possible he missed the entire season with his injury.

Stay Alert

Be sure to check twitter or tune into the pregame show to get the late breaking news you will want to know before tipoff tonight.

Jan 27, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts to his three pointer with guard Nik Stauskas (11) during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Wells Fargo Center. The Houston Rockets won123-118. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia 76ers’ Scouting Report

The Philadelphia 76ers finally appears to be turning it around. After tanking and telling their fans to “Trust the Process” this 76ers team has finally climbed from the basement and is looking like it could be a contender in the near future.

They have a record of 17 wins and 29 losses coming into tonight’s game. They are only 5 games behind Charlotte for the eight-seed in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers have won 11 out of their 26 home contests this regular season. They have won 4 of their last 5 home games though and look to be rounding into form.

On January 27th, the Philadelphia 76ers did battle with the Houston Rockets in Philly. The Rockets defeated the Joel Embiid led 6ers by a score of 123-118 on Friday. Below is a highlight video to give you a glimpse at the team’s recent form.

Joel Embiid might be the main attraction for this 76ers team, but they are quickly developing into a fun team to watch. They play fast with a hoard of young talent. The 76ers have big men who would start on half the teams in the league that cannot even play a minute for the 6ers, think about saying that sentence two years ago.

They have Ben Simmons waiting in the wings and if they play their cards right multiple first-round draft picks to add to the team this summer. Philadelphia is a fascinating team to watch going forward as I think the “Process” might have worked, after all, it just needed a little more time.

What to Watch for Tonight

Boogie vs The Process

As you saw in the highlight video above DeMarcus Cousins and Joel Embiid both had great games in the first meeting and really went to work on each other. It was fascinating to watch and I expect something similar if both players play tonight.

If you want to see the statistical line I predicted for DeMarcus Cousins or any other Kings’ player then check out my predicting the box score column found here. It is full of fun tidbits about tonight’s game so enjoy it. Thank you.

Darren Collison Commanding More Minutes

More from A Royal Pain

An interesting trend is starting to develop with Darren Collison. Despite being the starting point guard, Collison has not played big minutes or produced big stats, but the last three games have been a different story. Collison is playing 39 minutes a game and averaging 3.0 three-pointers made, 22.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 2.7 turnovers in those contests. Some of the production is fueled by unsustainably hot shooting, but the minutes are the biggest sign that Collison may be breaking out of his shell and commanding the job.

It will be interesting to monitor Collison’s playing time this week to see if he continues to receive big minutes and keeps producing huge statistical lines. Stay tuned.

Defending the Three

The Sacramento Kings are the worst team in the NBA at defending three-pointers. They rank 30th in opponents three-pointers made per game and 27th in three-point percentage allowed.

The 76ers are one of the league’s best three-point teams. They rank 7th in three-pointers made per game with 10.5 a night. They also attempt the 7th most in the league.

This could be a big key for the Kings tonight. If they can defend the three-point line and force the 76ers into contested two’s it will go a long way in winning tonight’s contest.

Summary

There you have it, my game preview for tonight’s contest between the Sacramento Kings and the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly is a trendy team right now with Joel Embiid. The team is finally winning some games and getting back on track.

It will be the Kings job to continue their winning ways and down the 6ers tonight. The second of a back-to-back for Philadelphia leaves the Kings a nice opening to come in and steal a victory. Here is to hoping the Kings make it a reality tonight.

Be sure to check back to A Royal Pain for postgame content and any information you desire to know about the Sacramento Kings this season. Thank you for reading.